DoryJM Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 I want to give my guild some sort of a break on the quilting for the Opportunity Quilt. This is the "Help me find the Stars" quilt that I keep posting about--its finally done and I'll post pictures tonight. I did SID and freehand feathers as well as some echoing of the applique (man is that hard!) Anyway, my charge for that type of work normally is .03 si; which on this quilt comes out to $265.08. There's also a $10 thread charge and a $25 set up fee. Total is $300+/-. My thought is that I could discount the quilting by 15% or I could donate the batting (roughly the same amount as the 15% discount) since I purchased QD 70/30 hoping for more loft than the W&W they provided. Which would you do?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 I was always too generous. I usually quilted and gave at least 20 to 25 per cent discount and sometimes more when I was in business. Like right now, I am quilting 3 donation quilts at no charge for the fire department to raise money. It is our guild contribution because they let us use the station house as a meeting place. Ours is a start up guild and there is no money in the treasury. But, again, I am no longer in business and do not need to earn money for my quilting which is not your case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Gamez Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 lately I have been giving 20% off and they provide the batting. I limit myself to 5/year and I choose which quilt I do. Anything more than that, someone is welcome to come and use my machine in the evening when it's not in use....usually at that point, they will pay full price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoryJM Posted April 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Thanks for the help, Cheryl and Jessica. Its hard for me not to "give away the farm." Why is it so hard to charge what the quilting is worth?? Jess, I love that you offer to let them use your machine at night...too funny. I bet they do change their minds! I think I'm going to stick with the 15% discount and have them reimburse me for the batting. If they like what I did, hopefully, they'll hire me again next year. If not, oh well.... I'm still quilting our charity quilts for free, but I often have them for months since I do the paying quilts first. They know that when they give them to me, so that's not real surprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Hi Dory, I agree with you completely about the discount you are offering--it is very generous. We need pictures!!!:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doodlebug Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 i agree with everything, but i don't do charity quilts for free. i'll tell you why- when i first started LAing, i needed quilts for 'practice' and what better oppurtunity than to do charity quilts. well- word got out and i was swamped with 'charity' quilts. so now i do charity quilts at an hourly rate. i do what jessica does- pick 4-5 quilts a year that are raffle quilts for guilds, etc and i do them for a discount. i have one now that i'll be loading tomorrow. dory- i agree with your reasoning with what/how to charge....(still waiting to hear when you're visiting ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltaholi_518 Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 If your guild is set up as a non-profit, you can deduct the cost of those things that you provided, but only what YOU paid for them. So, the batting is good, keep a receipt. The thread is a bit more difficult, maybe highlight one spool from your last thread order. I discount even more IF the guild agrees to put on the tickets "Professionally quilted by Caron Carlson, Valley Quilt Studio, Batavia, IL" for a 50% discount, they are more than happy to, and the press is worth it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoryJM Posted April 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 Caron, great ideas. Unfortunately, we're not non profit and our tickets are on the roll like regular raffle tickets. Otherwise, I'd LOVE the advertisement! Shannon, you better be careful...your doorbell could ring one day and it would be me!!! I saw your studio on your blog and it looked like you'd have room for me:P:P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 Dory, After the previews of the quilt we've seen so far I'm sure they'll like it and want you to quilt for them next year too. Weren't the feathers fun to do now that you you know how to do them? Thanks Kim Brunner! Pricing: when I started out last fall I needed practice quilts too but I didn't do them for free. I gave a 50% discount with the understanding that they shouldn't expect perfection from a beginner! Everyone was happy with the deal. I give a 10% discount to my guild members. Can't wait to see the finished quilt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 I'm not a good one to ask! I always give away too much. The guilds raffle quilt I just did I would have charged .04 because of the extensive SID and feathers. That came to just over $400 and then you have batting and thread change (.04 includes thread). I ended up giving them 50% off the quilting but charged them a thread charge and full price for the batting. That ended up coming to about a 45% discount. I do have to say though I consider this part of my obligation to the guild. I do block of the month but that only involves every other month so not a big deal. I feel like I have to give back. I limit my donations to one a year for the guild and I don't think I'd do that big of a discount again, maybe more like 25%. My other donation is 1 quilt a month to QOV. When I first started I had all kinds of people coming up wanting freebie stuff. They are all great causes but since I only quilt part time I really have to be careful about how much time I donate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoryJM Posted April 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 Heidi, you sound like me...except you're so much nicer:D:D I started doing "cuddle" quilts for free for the practice. I still do them, but very few and they sit and wait until I have the time. This is the first time for an opportunity quilt, but we only do one a year and I didn't have my longarm for the last one. While I was working on this one I was definitely thinking .03 because I did so much SID and the feathers (yes, Betsy...thanks to Kim B. or there probably wouldn't have been ANY feathers!!). Then I added it up and thought...yikes, expensive!! I'm happy with what I ended up charging for it in the end; they got a 15% discount and are reimbursing me for the batting. I have batting, but its packaged and I don't have any king-sized, since I rarely get quilts that big. I have 3-day weekends, but after cleaning and conditioning our horses, that time shrinks and soon, it will be shrinking even more. My mother-in-law will be moving in within the next two to three weeks. I'm going to have to learn how to schedule quilts and how to say...oh, what is the word??? Oh, I got it..."NO." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judi Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 Dory - Good thread you started here. It is a bit of a sore subject though..... with our guild they all think you should be happy to quilt it, get the press, and they should not pay a thing...... and we are non-profit with a BIG bank balance. Rest assured I will not give away my quilting next time. I did way to much for this past show (it was just last weekend) and will be stepping it back a bunc... It was a fun time though.... I also have a lady in my chuch that brought me another Freebie / charity quilt. I was just trying to figure out how to say "No" more..... I like the 4 or 5 a year. I am already at my "5 good deeds" limit for the year...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoryJM Posted April 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 Judi, does your guild have a newsletter? If so, put an announcement in it. "Due to time constraints, I am only able to take limited charity quilts. Please call to see if time is available." I don't feel that my guild has taken advantage of me. Well, okay, one lady has, but she still doesn't have her charity quilt back. She actually gave it to me without the backing being pieced! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 Dory you need to remember NO! Over the years I really say NO a whole lot more than I used to. After being in business for 1 1/2 years I've learned to not apologize for my prices. To me it seems like a lot of money too but then I explain how many hours I spend on their quilt and ask them what they expect is a fair hourly rate and then add the use of my expensive equipment and classes and they quickly see that it is reasonable. I tell them it is ok if they think I'm too expensive. I guilt for others because I want to and I don't have to have the money to pay for my machine. My day job is really what pays for my machine and trust me with all the crap I put up with I really earn my machine!!!!! This week has been just miserable and I have to keep reminding myself how wonderful MQX was!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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